and the smoke pouring out of her house. that was disturbing. >> reporter: the fire was burning quite a while before firefighters arrived here and found the woman insood the home. they -- inside the home. they don't know exactly the cause but they do believe it was accidental. they do, however, know the cause of to other fires sunday morning that have them worried. around 1:00 in the morning a driver on the beltway saw smoke billowing from a home on talco place in college park. the cause? a malfunctioning furnace. the homeowner had just flipped is on for the first time this season. >> when the weather turns a little bit colder, we get extremely busy. >> i have to start over from zero. >> reporter: a space heater nearly destroyed a three-story apartment building on windham road in hyattsville. you lost everything? >> yeah. except for some clothes and stuff. it's smoked out. >> reporter: the red cross is helping the roughly 30 people who have been displaced. in prince george's county, surae chinn, 9news now.

>> this is the start of fire prevention week. prince george's county fire spokesman mark brady says heating appliances causes the most fires this time of year. two bicyclists are in serious condition after being struck by a pickup truck in arlington. it happened just after noon sunday. the truck was traveling east on columbia pike and tried to make a right hand turn. it jumped the median and hit two cyclists as they headed south on four mile run. the victims are both in their 60s. one suffered head trauma. the other has fractured ribs. police say the driver of the pick yum truck re-- pickup truck remained at the scene. no charges have been filed at this time. a 70-year-old is in custody after a series of armed robberies in college park. nico robinson was arrested at his home in greenbelt. he had several stolen items in his possession. he will be charged as an adult. all three robbery victims were university of maryland students. the robberies took place in the span of an hour near the

college park campus last wednesday. president obama and mitt romney are spending the day preparing for their second debate. the president is hold up at a resort in williamsburg, virginia. >> romney is at his boston headquarters. tuesday's debate is being held at hofstra university in new york. tara mergener has more. >> reporter: president obama took a brief break from his debate prep to visit a campaign office in virginia. he's been hold up at a williamsburg, virginia resort studying. this time aides say things will be different. prior to the first debate in denver, the president held a campaign rally and took a field trip to hoover dam. when asked how his preparations were coming along? >> it's a drag. they're making me do my homework. >> reporter: but had a different answer when asked the same question on sunday. >> it's going great. >> reporter: the obama campaign

says the president knows he has to do better this time. >> no one is a harsher critic than the president is of himself. he viewed the tape. i think he's going to make some adjustments on tuesday. i'm not going to get into detail about strategic changes that he might make but i just encourage you to watch. >> reporter: mitt romney's campaign believes the first debate could not have gone better. he's made gains in the polls and appears to have reenergized his base. >> i think the wind is at governor romney's back. there's clearly momentum. you can see it on the the trail. you can see it in the data. >> reporter: in the first round romney had to prove he could stand on the same stage with president obama and hold his own. he is a new challenge -- he has a new challenge for tomorrow's debate. >> expectations for him are higher for him in this debate than the first. he has to come out maintaining the momentum. >> reporter: romney continues his prep near boston today. tara mergener for cbs news, washington. >> if you plan on voting in

maryland, the district or virginia in the upcoming november election and you haven't registered to vote yet, you only have a few days left to do it. in virginia today is the last day to register. tuesday is the deadline in maryland. and in the district your only option is to register in person at the elections board headquarters. you have until this friday, october 19 to do that. for more information on voter registration, go to wusa9.com and look under our campaign 200012 -- 2012 tab. former senator arlen specter has died. he was 82 years old. he died sunday morning of complications from nonhodgkins lymphoma. he spent 30 years in the senate. he switched parties and ran in the democratic primary. he lost the race in 2010. here he is at a 2009 town hall meeting. >> when you say -- from my point of view, i'm trying to

take the pulse of my constitutes and trying to get the specifics on what they have in mind and accommodate them as much as i can. but change is awesome. change brings back uncertainty. and i think a lot of people are afraid. >> a funeral is scheduled for tomorrow in penn valley, pennsylvania. it will be open to the public. specter is survived by his wife, two sons and four granddaughters granddaughters. a five-day hearing will address a number of key disputes including whether the u.s. government can sensor information it has deemed classified. the hearings will be held at gawn tap mow -- guantanamo bay, cuba. it will have a delay to allow a military sensor to block any information deemed classified.

at 4:36, here's a look at some other stories making news now. two hikers from virginia are missing in montana's glacier, national park. rangers and a team of 50 are looking for the men. neal peculiarens and jason hiser have not been seen or heard from since friday. wintry conditions in 18 inches of snow in the park are hampering the search. family members reported the 32- year-old hikers missing friday after they failed to catch their flight home from montana. they both work in veterinarian medicine. a pittsburgh steelers rookie defensive lineman is in trouble with the law. police arrested alameda taomo after he led officers on a chase through a pittsburgh neighborhood. he tried to run over several officers and then swiped several parked cars before crashing his lincoln navigator. this morning he's facing a long list of charges. the space shuttle endeavour is finally at its permanent home. the shuttle pulled into the california science center this

weekend after making a 12-mile trek from los angeles international airport through the streets of downtown l.a. the city cut down 400 trees and raised 100 power lines to give the five-story shuttle enough room for the journey which attracted quite a crowd. >> really exciting. the time right now is 4:37. an approaching cold front and the chances for some late day storms could make for a messy afternoon. howard is back in for minutes to let -- two minutes to let us know what to expect. >> apple plans to unveil a new device. we'll bring you a preview. >> sunday was an emotional day for members returning home from afghanistan. >> you're watching 9news now.

. we're coming up on 4:40 this monday morning. a mild start. lots of 60s out there. grab the rain gear. we'll get a couple of showers and maybe a better chance of some showers and a rumble or to of thunder this afternoon with a midday high of 73. falling back into the upper 60s for the drive home. i'll be back in a few minutes looking at the rest of the week. here's monika samtani with timesaver traffic. in virginia northbound i- 95, looks great here in springfield leaving route 644 to 495. but northbound gw parkway is closed with construction between the key bridge and the spout run packway. you might just want -- parkway. you might just want to take 66 as your alternate. more traffic at 4:47. >> thank you, monika. time right now is 4:40. i'm watching your money. stocks are coming off their worst week since jiewj. we have -- june. we have mixed earnings news. we're going to find out if the confidence is translated into more consumer spending when the government releases the retail sales report for september. we're also going to see if the recovery in the housing market

is taking hold when new figures this week on home sales and construction are released. and as for the major averages, checking the numbers. the dow stands this morning at 13,328, inched up 2 points on friday. red arrows for the nasdaq and s&p. nasdaq off by 5, s&p off by 4 points. asia is the wealthiest region in the world. according to credit new global report, asia has $7 trillion in health surpassing europe which saw its level plunge 14% over the past year. the number of millionaires in china is expected to double by 2017. and apple will reportedly take the wraps off a smaller, cheaper ipad at an event on october 23. just about a week away. the screen expected to be about half the size of the ipad which currently measures 9.7 inches dieing aally. -- dieing aally -- diagonally.

google and barnes and noble also sell tablets in the same size and price range. you love yours. >> i do. it's just too much. i know mike is missing another apple product. the meningitis outbreak grows to more than 200 people. >> we'll have more on that story plus your weather first when we return in just two minutes. you're watching 9news now.

. good morning. welcome back to 9 news now. it's 4:44 this monday morning. the weather is changing again from very chilly over the weekend to what this morning? >> it's warm. you'll need a jacket because some showers will be moving in. temperatures are up, into the 60s right now.

yes, maybe a little surprising to you when you step out this morning. we're looking at the temps in the 60s under cloudy skies. we may just see a stray shower this morning. best chance of that will be well west of town with temps in the 60s. that sunrise not until almost 7:20. got a few more weeks until we fall back. that is sunday morning, november 4 is when we fall back to standard time. 69 at 8:00. by noon 73. a few showers around. better chance for showers, maybe even a rumble of thunder. as we go into the afternoon hours. as we head toward early this evening, looks like the shower threat will move east and southeast of d.c. by 8:00 mostly cloudy and 62. with the winds turning around, they'll go northwesterly tonight because a cold front is on the way and that will dry us out for your tuesday. this morning mid-60s in many areas in the metro a. few low 60s hagerstown, winchester. got a report from one of our viewers in luray. 60 degrees.

that's on my facebook page but not raining yet. easton 66. at patuxent river 67 this morning. by the way the weather watchers in bowie, 46 in prince frederick. 66. right now 66 degrees and cloudy skies. that's our michael & son weather camera behind me. we have great visibility of the u.s. capitol dome. south winds at 10 miles an hour. the south winds and the clouds keeping temperatures from dropping off all that much overnight. saturday morning north of town widespread frost. we had a big frost. look at the showers this morning. i'm going to get on this side and get out of the way now coming through eastern tennessee approaching ashville over toward almost roanoke this morning. this stuff is going to be moving in this direction. that's why we get later this morning into the afternoon, we're going to see those showers, maybe some thunder. there's a cold front coming into pennsylvania and western west virginia. mild southerly winds ahead of it. cooler westerly winds behind

it. tomorrow's high should only be in the mid-60s as opposed to the low 70s today. so by lunch time we're looking at a scattering of showers. maybe a better chance to some showers and storms here. this is 3:00. then as we head toward the evening hours, notice how the access of the rain starts to shift from d.c. south and east, east of i-95. we'll go into tonight. we'll kick all of that out of here. maybe a lingering shower toward midnight in the mountains with the upslope flow. but we're going to definitely clear out a. cool sunny tuesday with highs in the 60s. then on wednesday, that looks pretty nice as well. maybe a patch or two of clouds passing through during the day on wednesday. but wednesday looks fine. highs should be up closer to 70. so we look at the forecast. today a yellow alert day with the showers around this afternoon. they're going to slow you down and certainly could have an impact on the evening rush, not the morning rush. mild, 73. tonight we are dipping into the 50s, some 40s north and west. tomorrow cool, 66. but nice. wednesday nice with a high around 70.

the second half of the week slight chance of a shower friday, 68. saturday looking okay. the terps and also the big breast cancer walk downtown. i'm going to be there with kristen berset. a little cool, 65. right now sunday nice, 67. here comes monika samtani looking smart there. business casual, huh? >> thank you so much, howard. you know, start the week off right. if you're planning to head around town, i think you're starting the week off just fine. there are no problems to report other than one construction spot that you should know about on the northbound side of the gw parkway. that's blocked between the key bridge and spout run parkway with construction from overnight. so maybe just go ahead and use 66 as your alternate route. that's doing absolutely fine inside the beltway no issues there. let's take a live look on the northbound side of 395. here's what it looks like at the pentagon heading for the 14th street bridge. nice and light really between 495 and the potomac river here. let's go over to southern maryland on our maps. no problems to report route 4, route 5, route 301 coming out

of brandywine or accokeek. heading to the wilson bridge on the beltway you're going to be final. one last look at the american legion bridge west side of town no issues between bethesda and tyson. i'll be back with more traffic at 5:01. >> thanks, monika. it was an emotional homecoming for a few dozen members of the district's national guard who had been in afghanistan since the beginning of the year. >> matt jablow was at the d.c. armory when the troops came home. >> reporter: it was all hugs and kisses and unbridled emotion today outside the d.c. national guard armory. where the many homemade signs said it all. how does it feel to be home? >> peoples awesome. >> reporter: welcome home. >> it feels great. >> reporter: after ten months in afghanistan. >> afghanistan was tough. >> reporter: the national guard's 273rd military police company was finally back on u.s. soil greeted by thunderous cheers. >> welcome back.

[ applause ] >> reporter: and tears. when they arrived late this afternoon. >> i'm just really ecstatic. >> reporter: the 273rd military police company consists about 180 men and women, 70 of whom were deployed to afghanistan back in january. tonight all 70 are finally back home. specialist lastasha gerard was greeted by her mother. >> i can't believe i'm here. >> reporter: how does it feel to be home? >> overwhelming, excited. >> reporter: like almost all of their fellow company members, they said they were proud to serve their country overseas. >> it feels really good and important that i was part of this mission. >> reporter: but that there's no place like home. >> just can't explain how it feels to be back home in the u.s. it's just beautiful. >> reporter: in southeast washington, matt jablow, 9news now. >> a formal ceremony will be held tomorrow at the d.c. armory to honor the 273rd

military police company. the meningitis outbreak continues to grow. there are 15 new cases of the disease. the centers for disease control sense more than 200 people in 14 states including maryland and virginia have gotten sick. 15 people have died. the outbreak has been linked to steroid shots used for back pain made by a specialty pharmacy in massachusetts. more evidence of a link between obesity and cancer. researchers in texas found that fat tissue feeds cancer. they studied overweight and average weight mice. all had cancer and were fed the same diet. the fat cells in the overweight mice helped form blood vessels which brought fresh oxygen and nutrients to the tumors and then helped the tumors to grow. a new study finds the hpv vaccine does not lead to increased sexual activity or higher rate of pregnancy. health officials have recommended that 11 yearl girls -- 11-year-old girls receive

the vaccine to prevent sexually transmitted disease. they say there is no evidence to support concerns that using the vaccine would lead to more sexual activity and possibly more pregnancies or sexually transmitted diseases. another study in pediatrics confirmed what parents have known since the beginning of time. kids who get less than the recommended amount of sleep are more likely to be cranky. researchers found children age 7 to 11 who slept an average of 54 minutes less were more temp emergency. they also found kids were able to regulate their emotions and focus in school if they were given an extra 27 minutes of sleep. an estimated 64% of school age children go to school later than -- or rather go to bed later than 9:00 p.m. expects recommend children sleep 10 to 11 hours a night. >> their parents would like to do that, too. a sea of pinch celebrated a milestone this weekend on the grounds of the washington

monument. some 1600 breast cancer survivors and their supporters wrapped up the komen three-day awareness walk. the 60-mile trek started friday in southeast washington and raised $3.8 million for breast cancer awareness and education. >> it was fantastic. got a few blisters and it was great. donate. donate. >> three days, 60 miles. i'm ready to go home. very tired. but excited. >> it's a really powerful statement. this weekend's event was one of 14 komen walks across the country. >> fabulous day. right now it's time for the question of the morning at 4:53. >> most americans say they're more stressed out about this than they are about november elections. is it a, a first date, b, holiday shopping, almost 80 days left, and c, buying a halloween costume. >> what do you think? log on to the wusa9 facebook

fan page. leave your response. we're going to have the answer during the 6:00 hour. to the gan about once a month. last time i was at a gas station was about...i would say... two months ago. i very rarely put gas in my chevy volt. i go to the gas station such a small amount that i forget how to put gas in my car. [ male announcer ] and it's not just these owners giving the volt high praise. volt received the j.d. power and associates appeal award two years in a row. ♪

welcome back. 4:56. your weather first. it's mild this morning. we've got 60s out there with the cloudy skies, but there's some showers on the way. a lot of leaves have been coming down the last few days so watch out. that could add to the slickness factor. temperatures getting up into the low 70s with a better chance of showers this afternoon as opposed to this morning. i'll be back during 9news now at 5:00 talking about what looks like a pretty decent week ahead. right now let's check in with monika. she's talking timesaver traffic. if you're planning to head on the beltway in silver spring, here's what it looks like at university boulevard. no issues between 95 and 270 and all your major thoroughfares look good to the beltway coming in from the north. i'll be back with more at 5:01. >> thanks, monika.

if you bought or plan on buying a tablet which uses microsoft's new operating system windows 8, you will soon be able to listen to free music. the new feature is called xbox music but there are two potential setbacks for you. if you listen you have to listen to an audio ad every 15 minutes. the other setback, the free version of xbox music won't let you download songs and save them for offline playback. that requires paying $10 a month. >> it's probably going to get you a movie ticket. taken two takes a box office hot spot again. the thriller took in more than $22 million in ticket sales over the weekend. ben afleck's new film "argo" came in a close second breaking the $20 million mark in its debut weekend. another newcomer "sinister" rounded out the top three. an ace fridayian dare devil broke records after flying up to the earth's extras fear and

-- stratosphere and skydiving for the highest and fastest freefall ever. >> it's amazing to watch and so scary. bigad shaban was at the launch site in new mexico for the history-making leap. >> reporter: from the edge of space austrian dare devil felix baumgartner gave a salute before jumping. he topped 833 miles per hour breaking the speed of sound. >> you travel so fast, you don't really realize how fast you are. >> reporter: at times baumgartner seemed to spin out of control. >> for some reason it started spinning so fast and so violent that sometimes in it, like, i'm getting unconscious. >> reporter: 24 miles above new mexico he became a human missile. baumgartner was able to reach such great heights thanks to the 55-story helium balance loon. in order for a state of lift- off, winds could be no more than 3 miles per hour. on his way up, baumgartner's breath fogged up his helmet and

he complained the air inside his advisor is not warm enough. >> i do not think i have safe heating. >> reporter: the problem was never fixed. >> i could see a little bit of frost and for about 30 minutes it hoods like we would have to abort the the in mission. >> reporter: but the crew decided the jump was still safe. his freefall is now the highest and fastest known to man, but not the longest. it lasted four minutes and 20 seconds, 16 seconds shorter than joe kittenger's record set more than half a century ago. he helped train baumgartner and was there from lift-off to landing. bigad shaban, cbs news, roswell, new mexico. >> organizers triggered a release to let helium out of the balloon so it could return back to earth. the capsule was also detached so it could use its own parachute to coast back to land and be retrieved for future use. scary. >> incredible. you said you watched the whole thing. >> i watched it. he had a li t